I stand on the front porch, in the cold, despite the thick black army coat I'm wearing. I approach the front wooden door and started knocking. As I was waiting for an answer, I rub my hands and hugged myself to keep warm.
The door eventually swung open and I saw Sal, who's glad to see me.
"Hey." Sal greets me as he gestures me to walk inside.
I set foot inside the house. It already feels like home. The modern lamp on my right really makes the space more vivid, which goes well with the white-beige wallpaper. I take off my black converse, without being told by Sal himself, and went to the living room, where I found Brian sitting on a brown armchair and Joe and Murr sitting next to each other on the brown couch.
Murr was the first to notice me. "So it really is you?" Murr asks with a smile, wearing the bluest t-shirt you could find in a shop.
"Of course it's her! Didn't you recognise her?" Joe nudges Murr with his elbow.
"Yeah, but not until you reconigsed her first!" Murr lowered his voice, thinking that I wouldn't hear him.
I giggled as I watched the two bicker. Sal gestured me to sit, his hand in the direction where another armchair is placed, which is opposite the armchair where Brian is sitting.
"Do you want anything to drink?" Sal asks me.
"Just a glass of water." I told him as I sat down on the armchair, making myself comfortable.
As Sal went to the kitchen, I observed the coffee table in the middle, that has magazines scattered everywhere and papers placed on top of it. Must be work stuff, for all I know. Ideas for the show, maybe.
"We were surprised to actually see you while we were filming." Joe looks at me as he buttons up his white-plaid shirt. "I'd thought I'd seen that face before. It actually bothered me for a little bit."
"I wasn't bothered at all." Murr lies.
"Oh please, you were just as bothered as he was." Brian points out to him with his finger, knowing that he was lying.
"I was trying to look unrecognisable, but obviously that hasn't worked." I said as Sal came back with a glass of water in his hand. I took the glass and thanked him.
Sal sat down next to Joe on the couch and joined in the conversation. "Maybe not, but that doesn't mean that you won't be on TV."
"Wait, if you were trying to look unrecognisable, how did you know that we'd be in the mall?" Murr points out.
I mentally struggled to find the right answer, because if I told them that Sal asked me for help, then who knows what would happen next. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anything but the truth. "Sal asked me to help him." I answer.
I looked at Sal and gave him the I'm-sorry look. He snarled briefly and was visibly upset, and it made me wish that I didn't say that, because he didn't want to lose and do a punishment that could be far worse than going through trash looking for his phone or peeing his pants, anything germ related. But, honestly, I don't think it bothered him too much. I'm sure there are things far worse than losing a challenge on a prank show.
"Ah! Sneaky Sal, up to his good ol' tricks." Murr glares at him, rubbing his two hands together like a masterminded villain. "You can't fool us."
"Well, to be fair, he sort of did." Joe jumped in, stopping Murr making Sal feel any worse. "I mean, we actually believed that he succeeded by giving him the thumbs up. And we didn't recognise...Mel, right?"
"Melinda." I told him. "Mel is short for Melinda." I'm surprised that he remembers my name.
"Right. We didn't recognise Melinda back at the mall." Joe finishes explaining to Murr.
"But we did eventually." Murr said.
"Yes, but not on camera." Joe told him.
Murr didn't have anything else to say and decided to just let it slide, raising both of his hands in defeat.
"You did ask." Sal leaned at my direction as he whispered to me.
"And you said yes." I whispered back.
The silence suddenly grew and no one said a thing for a couple of minutes. Joe eventually breaks the silence and starts a conversation. "So you live here?"
"Not in this house, obviously." I answer wittily. The guys laughed a little.
"Looks like we've got a Joker in the house!" Murr smiles.
"You wish you did though, right?" Joe laughs, still referencing about my crush on Sal. I just shook my head, refusing to answer. In my mind, I wish I did. I could.
"So what was your reaction when you first found out that these two goofballs moved in?" Murr asks me.
I take a sip of water and answered. "Not surprisingly, I was surprised." I smile, looking at Brian and Sal for a quick second before looking back at Murr. "Especially since I saw them the night before, it's crazy."
"So where's the other one?" Murr searches for the other one.
I wasn't sure what he meant at first, but I quickly figured out what he means by that. "Oh, you mean my sister Dawn? She's at home." I answer with my open hand pointing at the direction where my house is.
The Jokers all had a surprised, or shocked, look formed on their faces. It wasn't over dramatic, but they looked concerned. "Alone?" Joe asks.
This made me feel bad. I told Dawn that I was going to their place, but I never offered her to tag along. Wow, I am a shitty sister. "Yeah...alone." I sigh.
"You're just like Naomi Watts in that movie." Brian criticises me, which I'm sure it was meant as a joke. "What was that movie called?" Brian waits for someone to help him out.
"The Ring?" Joe makes a guess.
Brian nods. "Yeah, that's the one. God, it was the only thing that annoyed me. Whenever 'Rachel' does her job, looking for clues, she always leaves her kid alone. And the second movie, don't get me started on that."
"We won't." Murr says with his left hand up. He turns to look at me. "What about your mom?"
"Oh, she's not here. She's doing this 'business trip' thing, but that shouldn't take too long, ain't that right Mel?" Q answers for me.
I froze, struggling to whether answer truthfully or make up some lie. No. No more lies. I need to be honest with them and myself.
"Yeah, but she might take a little longer than planned." I answer as I adjusted myself to the seat.
"How long exactly?" Joe asks.
"A few months." I answer quickly.
"Jesus! That's long! Is this so-called 'business trip' that important?" Murr gasps.
I simply nod my head. I didn't know what else to say. "I could be rich if my mom plays her cards right." I looked down at the floor then back at the guys. "I can go get my sister." I suddenly suggested.
"No, I'll go watch her." Brian stood up from the armchair, sounding keen to help. "It'll be fine." Brian said.
I smile. "You're too sweet, but wouldn't it be better if she came here? I'm sure she'd want to meet Joe and Murr." I said as I gestured at the guys.
"It's okay. I got it." Brian sounded really keen on going by my place just so he can babysit my sister.
"Alright." I gave up and next thing I saw, he grabbed his coat, put on his boots and left the house in a flash. It felt strange letting someone else watching my sister, but Brian Quinn is no stranger.
I sat back down, still curious about why Brian was so eager to go there when my sister can just come here. Maybe he wanted to spend time with her? Well, I'm sure he'll do fine, and it was very sweet of him to offer.
Joe grabbed his phone and recieved a text from someone who worked with the show. He started typing and then slid his phone back into his jeans pocket. "We'd love to spend more time with you, but Murr and I have gotta get back to work. Casey needs us." Joe explained. "Mel, it's a pleasure seeing you again."
Joe reach out his hand. "Same goes to you!" I said shaking his hand.
"Here." Sal tossed the keys to Joe as soon as I shake hands with Murr. "Don't scratch it." Sal warned.
"Wonder what he wants from us this time." Murr said as he went to the hall to grab his coat.
"He wants us to do work! Use your ears, ferret boy!" Joe points to his ears.
"For all we know, he might not want us to do work. Maybe it's something else! You know what Casey is like!" Murr opens the door that went to the garage, and even when the door is closed, you could still hear them. I'm sure this is something they do often, even when they used to live together.
I hear the engine being turned on and saw the car exiting the garage. The car did a small u-turn and the car was nowhere in sight. Now it's just me and Sal in the house. It was quiet, despite the heavy rain attacking the glass windows making little crackling noises. I didn't know whether I should start talking or wait for him to start. Since we were both just sitting there in silence, I didn't want this to feel any more awkward. So I decided that now could be the time to ask him to be more than a friend. To start a relationship. No, first, I need to build up our friendship before we can go to the next level. I can't just jump right in.
But the heavy feeling of doubt and little skeptical voices soon came to place. I begun to question myself if now is actually a good time. I've only known him for three to four days and this is quite a big step. Also, what if it isn't true? What if Sal likes me as a friend, and a friend only?
I tried to not think about it, but it was almost impossible. Without hesitation, I looked at Sal and took a breath.
"Sal."
He looks at me, with a look on his face that said thank-god. "Yeah?" Sal smiles.
I smile back and moved the armchair closer to where Sal is. There's no going back now. Besides, it's now or never.
"I've got something to tell you." I said. Sal placed his hand on the seat next to him and gently pats on it, his emerald eyes still locked in mine. I sit up and moved to the couch where Sal wants me to sit.
"What is it?" Sal asks, curious about what I have to say.
"I...I haven't been completely honest to you." I pause, took another breath and continued. "My mom...she doesn't know that you and Brian live here." Soon, a bit of pressure came out of my chest, but not all of it. Being honest is a good feeling, but I still have more to tell him.
"Why? Did you lie to her?"
"I did, and I already regret it, but the reason why I'd done that is because...ugh, I don't know if I can say it."
"It's okay. Don't think, don't let it hold you back, just say it." Sal tells me.
I took another breath and felt ready to tell him. "Okay...I...I have feelings for you." I stopped. I waited for Sal to say something, but not a word came out of him. "Sal, I know this is going to sound crazy, because we've only known each other for a few days and I don't expect you to say what I want you to say, but I was wondering if you'd...if you'd like to hang out, you know, build up our friendship and...maybe see where this goes?"
It felt good to let it all out. I wish I had done it sooner, but there wasn't a perfect moment to say it. Now I'm anxious about what he has to say.
"You like me?" Sal said. I didn't know what to say, even the word 'yes' wouldn't come out of my mouth. I could only nod at this point. Sal smiled and placed his hand on top of mine. "I'm glad you said that, because...I actually feel the same way. I'd love to hang out with you." Sal agrees.
I felt like I'm over the moon. Not only he agreed to spending time together, but he does feel the same way I do for him. I'm sure that during our time together he'd want to know more about why I lied and why in the first place, but I want to see where this goes, and if all goes well, things can actually go right. I might just be the luckiest girl on the planet.
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Horray! Sal and Mel are going to 'hang out'! Will it work? Tell me what you think by leaving a comment!
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